(CNN) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday that it has temporarily halted the operation of a new cleanup system aimed at cleaning radioactive water in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant because of higher than expected radiation levels.

The company had just implemented the new cleanup system Friday night, and the system was seen as a key part of TEPCO's plan to handle the nuclear crisis.

The new system is supposed to absorb cesium from the highly-contaminated water.

This apparent setback comes a little more than three months into the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

One of three operating reactors at the plant melted down after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the other two suffered extensive damage to their radioactive cores.

Though no deaths have been attributed to the accident, the resulting contamination has forced authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 people from towns surrounding the plant.

In addition, restrictions on various agricultural and fisheries products have devastated Japanese farmers and fishermen since the disaster began, though some of those bans have been lifted in recent weeks.